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Sunday, 7 April 2013

Extreme Chocolate Chunk Cookies!

The other day I whipped up a batch of these Chocolate Chunk cookies. Our nephew was flying in from California, and I thought they would make a nice snack when he arrived. These are for serious cookie connoisseurs! A friend of mine, Mojdeh, gave me this cookie recipe a
few weeks ago, she got it from a friend who made it from Saveur magazine. They're absolutely over the top delicious!! And they were one of Saveur's top 150 recipes.

They're basically 9 ounces of rough chopped chocolate in between three layers of cookie dough...........trust me, you will die and go to heaven with the first bite! Ed, our nephew said, "they are moist and fudgy like brownies, layered with chunks of
chocolate, with a slight crisp outside!" And they are! Moist and tender inside, and so marbled that
every bite contains the consummate balance of sweet dough, melting
bittersweet chocolate, and crystalline salt.....mmmm You can't miss with these!

Chocolate Chunk Cookiesadapted from Saveur

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups flour¾ tsp. baking soda¾ tsp. kosher salt16 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened¾ cup packed dark brown sugar¾ cup sugar1 tsp. vanilla extract4 egg yolks9 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped (I used E. Guittard 72% wafers that I buy in bulk at World Wide Chocolate)Heat oven to 375 F. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Combine the butter, both sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl; beat on medium high speed with a mixer. until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add yolks two at a time. beating after each addition; add dry ingredients; beat on low speed until just combined. Transfer dough to a work surface; divide into 3 equal pieces.

Flatten each into a 4X6 inch rectangle; wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes.

Place one dough rectangle on a floured work surface; sprinkle with half the chocolate. Top with another rectangle, sprinkle with remaining chocolate, and cover with last rectangle. Using a floured rolling pin, flatten rectangles into a 9 X 6 X 1 1/2inch rectangle.

* Have you ever opened
your box of chocolate and found that it had developed an odd looking
grey color on the surface? Did you throw it out,because you thought it
had gone bad? You didn’t need to, because that happens when some of the
butterfat in the chocolate migrate to the exterior. It is perfectly
fine to use, it just isn’t as attractive as fresher chocolate. I use
that chocolate in recipes that call for melting it, such as ganache or in these cookies, where it melts in the oven.

Ed, Wee Bear and Jim enjoyed a mid round treat of Extreme Chocolate Chunk Cookies! We had a great time on the golf course with our nephew and can't wait for him to visit again! Hopefully next time with his new bride, Jenny!

No Fudging, Chocolate Is Good For You!

Chocolate lovers take heart! Findings reveal that dark
chocolate is packed with high-quality polyphenol antioxidants that may
promote overall cardiovascular health. Cocoa beans also contain
flavonoids (like those found in tea and red wine), which promote healthy
cholesterol levels and act as antioxidants. Great news! Chocolate is also full of phenylethylamine, a naturally occurring
substance in the body believed to help ward off the blues, as well as
stearic acid, a unique saturated fat thought to help lower cholesterol.
How’s that for proof positive that eating chocolate may make you happy
and healthy? A sweet side note: As if that wasn’t enough to convince you to dig in,
chocolate also provides a slew of daily nutrients. A 1.4-ounce milk
chocolate bar contains about 3 grams of protein, 7% of the adult daily
value (DV) of riboflavin, 8% of the DV for calcium and 5% of the DV for
iron. However we know the darker chocolate has the most benefits!

This little netted basket I found at Bed, bath and beyond. I thought it perfect to protect the Extreme Chocolate Chip Cookies in transport to a friends home. The perfect gift for many occasions, and please note this little basket looks like a bassinet! A baby shower idea!

3-3/4 tsp saltMETHODIn large bowl, mix all ingredients with whisk until fully incorporated. Transfer to storage container; seal tightly. Store in cool, dry place or in refrigerator. Before using, stir to blend the flours and xanthan gum.